ETSU interim Chair of Environmental Health Elected President of Professional Group

JOHNSON CITY – Dr. Kurt Maier, professor and interim chair of the East Tennessee State University Department of Environmental Health in the College of Public Health, has been elected president of a professional organization for the leading North American scientists, academicians and managers in the field of environmental toxicology and chemistry.

Maier was selected for the position by the board of directors of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) in North America. In addition to the posts of vice president, president and past-president for the North American unit – which he will occupy during a three-year term – Maier will also serve on the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry World Council, which is the global governing body for the organization.

Approximately 6,000 professionals are members of SETAC, which brings together environmental toxicology and chemistry experts from throughout the spectrum of the field. SETAC’s founding principles include an equal balance among academia, business and government sectors and an adherence to science-based objectivity.

The organization provides a forum where members can exchange information and ideas on the study and analysis of and solutions to environmental problems; the management of regulation of natural resources; research; and developmental and environmental education.

Maier, who is also graduate coordinator for the Department of Environmental Health, earned his doctorate in ecology from the University of California at Davis and a master’s degree in biological sciences from California State University at Hayward. He has been a previous member of the SETAC board of directors.